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Anger over increased payouts to Solomons MPs

The head of parliamentary entitlements in Solomon Islands says he is willing to review a controversial decision to increase rewards to MPs when they leave office.

The Solomon Islands Parliamentary Entitlements Commission has approved an increase in entitlements from $US14,000 to $55,000 for parliamentarians when they finish a four-year term.

The government must secure $US2.8 million to meet its obligation for up to 50 exiting MPs, a move which has sparked public anger in the developing Pacific nation.

Anti-corruption groups are urging the PEC to revoke the "outrageous" new payout.

PEC chairman Johnson Siapu has told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat he is open to further discussions on the increase.

"At the moment it is being criticised, and I am welcoming these groups to make submissions to my commission for a meeting that should be happening in the future for further deliberations and considerations of the amount," he said.

Mr Siapu says the PEC has recently repealed a separate increase under the MPs' charitable and discretionary fund.

This week Transparency Solomon Islands accused the government of behaving irresponsibly with its budget.

The corruption watchdog says the government has not been transparent about taking $US2.7 million from the budget to pay for a black-hole in its Rural Development Fund.

The money comes from Taiwan, but the Asian country recently chose to withhold the funds for 17 MPs because they had not submitted acquittals.

A spokesman in Honiara has told Radio Australia the government considers the issue "resolved".

Mr Siapu argues that the MPs' new payout is an unrelated issue, but says Transparency Solomon Islands" are probably correct in what they are talking about."